Entrance for railway passenger cars



Feb. 10, 1959 J. R. FURRER ENTRANCE FOR RAILWAY PASSENGER CARS FiledJune 9, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lkh u r INVENTOR JOHALR FURRER M ATT ZNEY5 J. R. FURRER 2,872,881

ENTRANCE FOR RAILWAY PASSENGER CARS Filed June 9, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2ENVENTOR JOHN. R. FURRFR ATTORNEY Unite States ENTRANCE FOR RAILWAYPASSENGER CARS John R. Furrer, Bulfalo, N. Y., assignor to A. C. F.

Industries, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New JerseyApplication June 9, 1954, Serial No. 435,593

Claims. (Cl. 105-443) loading such cars at the majority of Americanrailroad stations, in which the station platform height is the same asthe top of the rails, or only a few inches higher, a series of threesteps is frequently provided in a well formed in the car floor adjacentthe loading vestibule doors. The well is normally covered at the top bya hinged trap door, which when closed, functions as apart of thevestibule floor. For loading and unloading at low-level stationplatforms, the trap doors are opened n and the steps used. In someplaces, particularly on certain roads in the New York area, however, inorder to expedite loading and unloading, station platforms ofsubstantially the same height as the car floors have been provided. Insuch stations, the trap doors are not opened, but are used as part ofthe vestibule floor, the passengers merely stepping directly from theupper surface of the trap door to the station platform.

Research on car design now in progress strongly indicates thedesirability and practicability of lowering the floor of passenger carsto a level much nearer the rails than the conventional construction.This change obviously necessitates a substantially different type ofloading means from the conventional trap door and stepwell construction,because such low-floor cars will in many cases have to be used on lineshaving both the high and low-level station platforms.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide, in alow-floor railway passenger car, loading means for use with high-level,as well as low-level station platforms.

I achieve this object by providing a three section door consisting of aroof hatch and two Dutch door sections, the upper edge of the lowerDutch door section being the same height as a high-level stationplatform and serving as a step tread. Two intermediate treads are hingedto the end wall of the car for movement into or out of use position. Foruse with low-level platforms, at well step is provided, and is coveredwith a trap door hinged to the car door. When the car is loaded atlow-level station platforms the roof hatch is left closed, the hingedstep treads are left in the vertical position, the trap door is opened,and both sections of the Dutch door are opened. For loading at ahigh-level platform the roof hatch and the upper Dutch door section areopened, the lower Dutch door section remaining closed, and the hingedintermediate step treads are swung to the horizontal position, so as toprovide equally spaced steps from the car floor to the high-levelplatform.

The foregoing and additional objects and advantages 2,872,881 PatentedFeb. 10, 1959 will be evident from the description and drawings, inwhich:

Fig. l is a side view of a car loading vestibule built according to myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view along the line 22 of Fig. 1, butwith the step treads in horizontal position.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the roof hatch shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of a car incorporating myinvention showing a low-level platform on the left side and a high-levelplatform on the right side.

In the drawings, low-floor car C is provided with an underframe 11,floor 12, side walls 13, roof 15, end wall 17, and bulkhead 19, and ismounted on track wheels 21 by resilient suspension means (not shown).Track rails are shown at R in Fig. 5. End wall 17 and bulkhead 19 arelongitudinally spaced to form a loading vestibule V. The side Walls 13between bulkhead 19 and end Wall 17, are cut away to form a rectangulardoor opening 20, and the roof is similarly cut away adjacent the sidesto form an aligned upward extension 21 of the opening. A Dutch doorconsisting of an upper section 23 and a lower section 25, which isrounded to conform to the curved contour of the car side, is mounted bymeans of off set hinges 26, 27, 28 and 29, on the bulkhead side of thedoor opening. The roof openings 21 mentioned above are each closed by ahatch cover 31 which is secured to the roof 15 by a longitudinallyextending hinge 31A mounted on the upper edge of the opening, so thatthe hatch cover may be opened and closed by rotating it about thishinge. The lower edge of hatch cover 31 is flanged as at 33 so as tooverlap the upper edge of upper section 23 of the Dutch door and hatchcover 31 is slightly larger than roof opening 21 whereby tooverlappingly engage the marginal edges of opening 21. Resilient sealingmeans, such as a rubber O-ring, are preferably secured to the marginaledges of opening 21 to serve as a weather seal. For holding hatch cover31 in the closed or open position, a brace 32 is pivotally secured atone end to hatch cover 31, and at the other end is provided with a bossadapted to engage A circular recess 35 in the edge of roof opening 21,for holding the hatch cover open, and recess 35a in bulkhead 19 forlocking the hatch cover in the closed position.

For use with high-level station platforms, an inwardly extending shelf36 forming a rigid top step tread is provided on the upper edges oflower Dutch door section 25. As will be noted in Fig. 5, shelf or tread36 is of substantially the same height as the high-level stationplatforms shown at H in Fig. 5. For reaching tread 36 from the carfloor, a pair of equally spaced intermediate folding treads 37 and 38are mounted by means of transverse horizontal hinges 40 and 41 attachedto the end wall 17 of the car on the opposite side of the loadingvestibule from the door hinges. Treads 37 and 38 are normally positionedvertically against the end wall, as shown in Fig. 1, but for use withhigh-level platforms, are rotated to the horizontal position shown inFigs. 2 and 3. The outer or free ends of treads 37 and 33 are eachprovided with a flange 42 and 43 which is adapted to fit when the treadsare horizontal into a slot formed by tread supporting brackets 45 and 46rigidly attached to bulkhead wall 19.

Thus, it is evident that if a car of this type is to be loaded at ahigh-level platform, such as H in Fig. 5, an opening of adequate size toaccommodate passengers is provided by raising roof hatch 31 and openingupper Dutch door section 23. Lower Dutch door section 25 3 is leftclosed, treads 37 and 38 are rotated from the vertical position shown inFig. 1 to the horizontal position shown in Figs. 2'and 3, so as to serveas steps between the car floor 12 and tread 36 carried on the lowerdoor. For use with'low-level platforms, such as L in Fig. 5, floor 12 isprovided with recessed steps 47 adjacent each door and in registry witheach door opening.

While in transit and except when loading or unloading on low-levelplatforms, steps 47 are covered by trap door 49 which is secured byhinges 51 to the lower edge of lower Dutch door section 25. This trapdoor 49 is'nermally flush with the low level iloor but is swingableupwardly and outwardly to a folded position against the lower door 25and beneath the tread 36.

While in transit, of course, hatch 31, door sections 23 and 25 and trapdoor 49 are closed. If the train is being operated in high platformterritory, treads 37 and 38 may be kept in the horizontal position.Otherwise, treads 37 and 38 remain in the vertical position shown inFig. 1. When a stop is made at a low-level platform station, trap door49 is swung to the position shown in Fig. 1 relative to door section 25,and both door sections 23 and 25 are opened. If a stop is made at ahigh-level station, treads 3'7 and 38 are rotated to the horizontalposition, the roof hatch 31 is opened and is held open by brace 32, andupper Dutch door section 23 is opened. In Fig. the left side of thevestibule is arranged for loading at a low-level platform while theright side is arranged for loading at a high-level platform.

This invention may be modified as will occur to those skilled in theart, and exclusive use is contemplated of all modifications andembodiments as come within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railway passenger car having a low level floor beneath the topsof the supporting wheels, side walls, a roof, means defining a passengerloading vestibule, means forming an opening in the side walls and givingaccess to the loading vestibule, a door comprising upper and lowersections for closing the opening and each of said sections being hingedto the car adjacent the car side for independent inward swingingmovement, and treads extending across the loading vestibule and leadingfrom said low level floor to the upper edge of the lower door sectionwhen the latter is closed, said treads being rotatably mounted on thecar and rotatable out of the path of said lower door section when saidlower door section is swung inwardly.

2. A structure according to claim 1, said lower door section furthercomprising a step tread extending along 4 its upper edge andconstituting together with said other treads a stairway.

3. In a railway passenger car having a low level floor beneath the topsof the supporting wheels, side walls, a roof joining the side walls, anda passenger loading vestibule, the improvement comprising said sidewalls and roof being formed with aligned openings constituting a doorwayof said vestibule, and a three part door comprising an upper roofconforming section, intermediate and lower side wall conforming sectionsfor closing the opening and each of said sections being hingedly mountedon the car for independent swinging movement to an open position, saidintermediate door section and at least one of the other sections whenopened providing passenger access to the vestibule.

4. The structure of claim 3 characterised in that said lower doorsection has its upper edge formed as the top tread of a stairway leadingto the low level floor and giving access to the car when theintermediate and roof conforming sections are open.

5. In a railway passenger car having a low level floor beneath the topsof the supporting wheels, side walls, a roof joining the side walls, anda passenger loading vestibule, the improvement comprising said sidewalls and roof being formed with aligned openings constituting a doorwayof said vestibule, and a three part door comprising an upper roofconforming section, intermediate and lower side wall conforming sectionsfor closing the opening and each of said sections being hingedly mountedon the car for independent swinging movement to an open position, saidintermediate and lower sections swinging inwardly, a step tread formedon the lower section adjacent the top edge thereof, and other steptreads hingedly carried by the car and swingable into operative positionblocking swinging movement of the lower section, said step treadsforming a stairway leading to the low level floor and giving access tosaid vestibule over the top of the lower section when the intermediateand 'roof conforming sections are open.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,196,568 McFadden Aug. 29, 1916 2,085,443 Nichols et al. June 29, 19372,129,950 Loney Sept. 13, 1938 2,633,090 Murphy Mar. 31, 1953 FOREIGNPATENTS 355,614 Great Britain Aug. 27, 1931

